Boat construction



R. KINTE Sept. 27, 1938.

BOAT CONSTRUCTION Filed July 2'7, 1957 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Sept.27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved type of boat construction, andmore particularly to an improved type of lifeboat or row-boat.

Many casualties attendant upon disasters at sea are ascribed to the typeof lifeboat construction heretofore .used. For example, many lives havebeen lost upon the destruction of ships in heavy gale or wind whenpassengers from the vessel have attempted to board lifeboats after Inthe lifeboats of the usual type, a heavy wind causes the boat to disposeitself at right angles to the direction of the wind and of the sea, andaccordingly persons in the water trying to climb into the boats oftencause the boats to capsize, thereby resulting in at least discomfort andoften loss of life of the occupants.

Moreover, in the type of boat construction heretofore employed it hasbeen extremely difficult when using the boat under high winds to disposeit with face directly into the wind because of the tendency, hereinabovereferred to, of the boat to turn and dispose itself with its side facingthe wind. In an effort to prevent the boat from so disposing itself, seaanchors or drags have been employed, but their use materially increasesthe amount of energy required to row the boat. In any event, the use ofthe sea anchor is not a dependable method of maintaining a boat facinginto the wind because very often the cord connecting the sea anchor tothe boat is broken particularly in a heavy sea because of the greatstrain placed thereon by intermittent snapping due to the rise and fallof the boat upon the waves.

In the type of boat constructed forming the subject matter of thepresent invention, means are provided whereby the boat will normallydispose itself facing the wind when freely set adrift without employinga so-called steering car or sea anchor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improvedtype of lifeboat construction whereby total capsizing of the boat isprevented or at least greatly inhibited so that the boat cannot normallybe turned entirely over even though filled with water in a heavy windand sea.

Another feature of the boat prepared according to the present inventionis that it can more easily be rowed into the face of a wind or gale thancan boats of the type of construction heretofore used.

It is a further feature of the novel boat according to the presentinvention that a streamthe boats had been discharged from the davits.

line hood is provided at the bow whereby the I I occupants are at leastpartially shielded from the elements.

The invention will be fully and comprehensively understood from aconsideration of the following detailed description when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of theapplication.

In'the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an improved lifeboat prepared in accordancewith the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the boat illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the boat illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front view of the boat illustrated a drag, generallydesignated at l5, comprising a pair of keels, generally designated at l6and I1, attached to the bottom strakes of the boat, and having the frontends thereof covered by the shoe, generally designated at I 8, so that acovered .35 pocket is provided in the area generally indicated at E9.The other ends of the keels are tapered so that they terminate flushwith the surface of the bottom strakes of the boat, substantially asindicated at 20. The sides of the keels are preferably flared outwardly,substantially as shown in Fig. 4. The bow portion of the boat is formedin the shape of a stream-lined hood, generally designated at 2l, whichpresents a substantially circular face and is carried down to the waterlevel; In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, this hoodis formed integral with the sides of the boat, generally designated atH. The air tanks, generally designated at 25, are fixedly attached toand disposed adjacent the sides of the boat, substantially as indicatedat Figs. 1 and 2. Seats, generally designated at 26, are preferablyprovided for occupants of the designated at 21. The stern of the boat isroundtucked to the stern post, generally designated at 30 to which areattached the pintles and gudgeons 3| supporting the rudder 32,substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention the rudder 32 is operated by the tiller ropes 33attached to the tiller handle 34 which is fixedly positioned upon thetop of the rudder.

The wind rudder, generally designated at 35, is fixedly positioned inthe stern of the'shi p adjacent the stern post and substantially in linewith the keel. The wind rudder comprises a hollow air-tight shapesubstantially narrow at the bottom and substantially widely flared atthe top and wider at the top front than at the top back, substantiallyas shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5. As has been hereinbefore mentioned,the wind rudder is fixedly attached to the stern post and bottom strakesof the ship so as to be maintained in substantially immovable position.It is preferred that the wind rudder be formed of light metal forexample, duraluminum and the like, although other materials can be used,if desired.

In use, when the ship is freely drifting in a wind, the keels l8 and I!act as drags, being the substantial equivalent of sea anchors, andaccordingly the boat is turned about the drag, that is to say,substantially about the shoe I8 forming the head of the keels so thatthe rear of the ship moves as if it were pivoted about this point. Thismovement is facilitated by the wind resistance provided by the sides ofthe boat as well as the wind rudder. When the boat is disposedsubstantially in line with the direction of the wind, it will present aminimum resistance thereto because of the stream-line of the hood 2! andof the wind rudder 35, and accordingly it will remain disposed in thismanner relative to the wind, and changes in the direction of the windwill produce corresponding changes in the position of the boat. In theevent that persons in the water should attempt to climb into the sidesof the boat, thereby causing partial capsizing of same, the air-tightwind rudder 35 in conjunction with the air tanks 25 will prevent totaloverturn of the boat due to the buoyancy of wind rudder and also due, atleast in part, to the torque action exerted by the weight of the keelsl6 and H. The buoyancy of the wind rudder is such as to prevent completeoverturn of the vessel. v

It is to be understood that this improvement is capable of extendedapplication and is not confined to the exact showing of the drawing norto the precise construction described and, therefore, such changes andmodifications may be made therein as do not affect the spirit of theinvention nor exceed the scope thereof as expressed in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A relatively small boat of the type described such as a lifeboatcomprising a hull having a bottom, sides and a hooded bow, a pluralityof projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of the bow, andhollow, gas-filled and gas-tight element substantially fixedly mounted,in essentially upright position, near the stern portion of the boatprojecting above the sides thereof, said element being streamlinedwhereby the wind resistance presented by the element to wind directed tothe side thereof is of a materially greater order of magnitude than theresistance presented to wind directed to the front face thereof.

2. A relatively small boat of the type described such as a lifeboatcomprising a hull having a bottom, sides and a hooded bow, a pluralityof projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of the bow, andan intrinsically buoyant element substantially fixedly mounted, inessentially upright position, near the stern portion of the boatprojecting above the sides thereof, said element being streamlinedwhereby the wind resistance presented by the element to wind directed tothe side thereof is of a materially greater order of magnitude than theresistance presented to wind directed to the front face thereof, theelement being disposed in the boat so that the condition of minimum windresistance obtains when, and only when, the boat is disposedsubstantially parallel tothe direction of the wind.

3. A relatively small boat of the type described such as a lifeboatcomprising a hull having a bottom, sides and a hooded bow, a pluralityof projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of the boat, andan element substantially fixedly mounted, in essentially uprightposition, near the stern portion of the boat projecting above the sidesthereof, said element being streamlined whereby the wind resistancepresented by the element to wind directed to the side thereof is of amaterially greater order of magnitude than the resistance presented towind directed to the front face thereof, said element being hollow,gas-filled and gas-tight, whereby its buoyant properties at leastlargely prevent the boat from completely overturning in the water.

4. A relatively small boat of the type described such as a lifeboatcomprising a hull including a bottom, sides and a hooded bow, aplurality of projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of theboat, and an element substantially fixedly mounted near the sternportion of the boat projecting. above the sides thereof and uprightrelative to the bottom of the boat, said element being streamlinedwhereby the wind resistance presented by the element to wind directedtothe side thereof is of a materially greater order of magnitude thanthe resistance presented to wind directed to the front face thereof, theelement being disposed in the boat so that the condition of minimum windresistance obtains when, and only when, the boat is disposedsubstantially parallel to the direction of the wind, said element beinghollow, gas-filled and gastight, whereby its buoyant properties at leastlargely prevent the boat from completely overturning in the water.

5. A relatively small boat of the type described,

such as a lifeboat, comprising a hull having abottom, sides and a hoodedbow, the hood of said bow being formed integral with and projectingabove the sides of the boat and being substantially streamlined abovethe water level so that its wind resistance is least when directlyfacing the wind, a plurality of projecting keel-like eements'attached tothe bottom of the boat, and a hollow, gas-filled and gas-tight elementsubstantially fixedly mounted, in essentially upright position, near thestern portion of the boat, said element being streamlined, whereby thewind resistance presented by the element to wind directed to the side ofthe boat is of a materially greater order of magnitude than theresistance presented to wind directed toward the front face of the boat.

6. A relatively small boat of the type described, such as a lifeboat,comprising a hull having a bottom, sides and a hooded bow, a pluralityof projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of the boat andbeing tapered so that they lie flush with the bottom surface near themid-portion of the boat, and a hollow, gas-filled and gas-tight elementsubstantially fixedly mounted in essentially upright position near thestern portion of the boat projecting above the sides thereof, saidelement being streamlined, whereby the wind resistance presented by theelement to wind directed toward the side thereof is of a materiallygreater order of magnitude than the resistance presented to winddirected toward the front face of the boat.

7. A relatively small boat of the type described, such as a lifeboat,comprising a bottom, sides and center board and having a hooded bow,said hood being formed integral with and projecting above the sides ofthe boat and being substantially streamlined above the water level sothat its wind resistance is least when directly facing the wind, aplurality of projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of thebow and disposed substantially parallel to the center board of the boatand being tapered so that they lie flush with the bottom surface nearthe mid-portion of the boat, a shoe covering the front ends of saidkeel-like members, and an element substantially fixedly positioned nearthe stern portion of the boat projecting above the sides thereof anddisposed upright relative to the bottom of the boat, said element beingstreamlined whereby the wind resistance presented by the element to winddirected toward the side thereof is of a materially greater order ofmagnitude than the resistance presented to wind directed toward thefront face thereof, the element being disposed in the boat so that thecondition of minimum wind resistance obtains when, and only when, theboat is disposed substantially parallel to the direction of the Wind,said element being hollow, gas-filled and gas-tight, whereby its buoyantproperties at least largely prevent the boat, from completelyoverturning in the water.

8. A relatively small boat of the type described, such as a lifeboat,comprising a bottom, sides and center board and having a hooded bow,said hood being formed integral with and projecting above the sides ofthe boat and being substantially streamlined above the water level sothat its wind resistance is least when directly facing the wind, aplurality of projecting keel-like elements attached to the bottom of thebow and disposed substantially parallel to the center board of the boatand being tapered so, that they lie flush with the bottom surface nearthe mid-portion of the boat, a shoe covering the front ends of saidkeel-like members, and an element substantially fixedly positioned nearthe stern portion of the boat projecting above the sides thereof anddisposed upright relative to the bottom of the boat, said element beingstreamlined whereby the wind resistance presented by the element to winddirected toward the side thereof is of a materially greater order ofmagnitude than the resistance presented to Wind directed toward thefront face thereof, the element being disposed in the boat so: that thecondition of minimum wind resistance obtains when, and. only when, theboat is disposedsubstantially parallel to the direction of the wind,whereby the boat 1 substantially as sea anchors, the aforesaid windresistant element disposed adjacent the stern of the boat being hollow,gas-filled and gas-tight, whereby its buoyant'properties at leastlargely prevent the boat from completely overturning in the water.

REIN HOLD KINTE.

